Thursday
So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
– Luke 15:20-24
Jesus states it so simply in his story that we may not at first recognize the powerful significance of it - “so he got up and went to his father.” Before this younger son got up and went he had been reflecting on his desperate condition and deciding in his heart what he would say and do when he saw his father. Perhaps he had even been resolving to change his ways for good if he was given a second chance. But, all of his reflecting and deciding and resolving would mean nothing at all if he had not “got up” and started for home. I wonder if this boy had come close to returning home before? Perhaps as the money was running low, and the friends were starting to leave him, and times were getting tough, he thought about returning. He may have even decided to go back before but just not followed through with it.
How often we resolve to do this or to change that, yet our resolutions come to nothing, no significant action taken and no real changes. The month of March has just begun, and that means (along with that fact that Spring is hopefully just around the corner) that over 80% of the people who made a new years resolution just 2 months ago have already broken it and/or given up on it.
In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that — and shudder. – James 2:17-19
I don’t know about you, but I have had my share of “false starts” and good intentions in my spiritual life. I know what I ought to be doing and I even resolve to do it…but then I either slide right back into the same disobedient patterns. Proverbs 26:11 puts it bluntly for us, “As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.” Have you ever seen a dog do this? Our dog can have a bowl full of fresh food and clean water and still want to go sniff and eat whatever disgusting things she can find out in the back yard! I know its kind of a gross image, but that is the point. We are just like that when we refuse what the Father offers us. Imagine this boy, sitting in the pig slop day after day, until finally he gets up, and starts for home.
I don’t know what God is doing in your life. I have enough trouble paying attention to what He is trying to do in my life. But I do believe that God is at work in all of us.
Who do you need to apologize to?
Who do you need to forgive?
Who do you need to reach out to?
What relationship do you need to get out of?
What secret are you hiding that you need to bring into the light?
What habits or behaviors does God want to change in you?
What financial choices is God asking you to make?
Jeff Frazier
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3 comments:
This is a tough thing we are discussing here. Some secrets are better left unsaid, specially if they will cause pain to others. I don't know if God would like for us to inflict that kind of pain on other people that do not deserve it. How are we supposed to know if secrets of the past should be shared in the present? Isn't the past meant to be left in the past? When Jesus told the adultress to go and not sin again, I do not believe he meant for her to tell her family and friends what she had done in the past, he just told her to not do it again.
Dear Anonymous,
I am not sure I totally understand your concern. The devotional was not specifically addressing confessing sin or sharing secrets. The younger son in the parable knew what he had to do and say, and he did it.
Of course you are right that there are some circumstances in which it would not be appropriate for us to air al our dirty laundry. However, this devotional is urging us to act on what we feel God IS leading us to do.
If you unsure of what to say or who to say it to, then you should commit that to prayer and ask God to lead you. If, on the other hand, someone is certain that God wants them to act in a certain way, they should "get up and go do it." There are things in our lives that we know God wants and/or does not want for us and when we hesitate, we may miss the moment He gives us.
Blessings,
Pastor Jeff
Thank you Pastor Jeff, I was obviously missing the point.
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